Narrative description and application of tools taught in EDU 653 to the classroom. Ø Augmented Reality, virtual reality & Second Life—These three items can be categorized together into a group of altered reality environments. While virtual reality and second life focus on web-based locations that simulate real life, augmented reality is adding content or substance to reality through the use of digital content.
Augmented reality adds additional meaning to reality and can assist student learning in many ways. Additional content added to a visual image, say the city of Rome, could add in arrows to pinpoint specific sites, short historical narratives could be added to flash on screen when someone rolls over an area of the image with a mouse or their finger, and a exploded or an open view could be shown of a building when the user scrolls over the sidewall of a building.
In alternate reality, people can create their own identity in this alternate universe and can navigate around, explore, and learn in virtual reality and Second Life. This additional environment allows students to explore, meet, learn, and understand areas outside their actual environment. Virtual reality or Second Life locations sometimes mirror real life. In Second Life, virtual meetings can take place with avatars at imagined locations, discussing real life issues, allowing people from around the world to meet in an alternate location without the use of instant messaging, Skype or other communication tools other than their computers and the Internet.
Ø Blogs & video blogs—Blogs provide a location for people to share their thoughts, ideas and learning on a particular subject or general ideas. Users can subscribe to blogs or video blogs to download or visit the latest entries and keep abreast of changing thoughts, ideas, or facts. Blogs are text based, for the most part, and may include web links to pertinent material on other websites. Video blogs are created with broadcasting tools to add more substance to a blog. The viewer can see what is being discussed and may view actual demonstrations of topics or ideas. Video blogs and regular blogs are a chance in the classroom for students to have a voice on the Internet, on specific assigned topics or their thoughts in general. Blogs can also be used to assess someone’s understanding of ideas or, in connection with RSS and news feeds, can allow the owner to share current news and opinions on current events and issues. Ø Collaborative Editing—is found in most workplaces today as business become more mobile and globally focused. The ability to collaborate and work with a team is an invaluable skill for students to learn that will help them in the workplace and life in the future. Collaborative editing can take place through email—transferring of files for changes; from a file server—where documents or projects are checked out by users for modification and then returned to the server; or in web-based locations—cloud technology that is talked about all the time today. Collaborative editing can be used in the classroom to teach students teamwork, project management, and how to accomplish productive group activities. A group video project is a great example of collaborative editing. As a group, a storyboard of the video is planned, the script is written from the storyboard, then video is shot, followed by group work editing and finalizing the video. Editing steps in this process can take place either in a group, by sharing files via email, or sending them electronically to an online repository for storage. Ø Facebook—Social media such as Facebook is not looked upon too highly in some educational circles. But Facebook is merely an online meeting place for friends, teammates, group members and anyone joined by a common cause. While Facebook is sometimes used for frivolous chatting and mindless activities, there is a place in both education and business for Facebook. Since most students have Facebook accounts, why not add a Facebook presence to a classroom assignment. This would allow students to communicate in a comfortable manner, would provide an online meeting place, a document and image repository, and a place where they could communicate and work together. The Facebook environment is great for collaborative learning activities. Ø Flickr--> Image sharing is a great tool for any creative teacher. Sites such as Flickr and the ability to use Creative Commons shared photos expands the opportunities for educators to create exciting content, in both printed and digital format. Flickr subscriptions can be used to not only search for and “borrow” images, it can also be a place where students can share their work for critiquing, comments and use by others with whom they wish to share images. This site also provides a great lesson for students on Creative Commons and copyright law. Ø Google Docs—a great site to store files for limitless access from any web-connected device. Google Docs is another option for online collaboration. Google Docs stores all types of files, including word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets. This provides another outlet for students to use in a group assignment where several people are working on an assignment or part of a project. Storage and retrieval is free along with drawing software and other tools available in the Google Docs environment. Docs would be a great addition to any collaborative learning project where a team works on a group project together. Ø Instant Messaging—Instant messaging is a communication tool that works well in many environments. From business, medical, and education, all situations can benefit from this online communication tool. Messaging in some software requires subscription and accepting another person as someone you want to communicate with. In the workplace, sometimes simply signing into the workplace network will activate an instant messaging software. Whatever is needed to be done to sign in, messaging software can serve a valuable service. In education, messaging software can be used to communication during group projects, in the classroom, instructors could even communicate with students to answer questions as they arise. One situation that would be beneficial could be in the classroom during an exam. In order to minimize disruption to the whole class, messaging software could be used between students and the instructor or proctor to communicate questions about the test. Ø Lulu—Lulu is an online publishing site where the user can download and publish written work in either electronic or printed format. This tool would be a great addition just about any classroom. From elementary students writing their first book to college students writing a research project, the option to download and print/store your work online or in paper format is valuable. In particular, college students writing their first book who are looking to share their work online for reading, critiquing, or promotion would all benefit from a subscription to Lulu. Ø Ning—Ning is the next step into the social media environment. Ning helps subscribers to create their own social networking site. Although not a free site after the 30 day trial, Ning could provide students an easy way to show their passion or thoughts on an assigned topic. Students could easily create a web presence where they could share their thoughts. A Ning site could be used to promote a service learning project, helping to enlist new volunteers, customers, or people in need of assistance. Ø Podcasting—Created from the term iPod, podcasting is a technology that has been around for a few years. Though not cutting edge, tools such as ProfCast and Jing can help students benefit from lecture capture and sharing content on the web. Instructors can easily record their lectures, slides, presentations, and digitize them for sharing online. Students who need repetition of lesson material or may need to review lessons due to absenteeism can all benefit from a podcasted lecture. Classroom content can be recorded and posted to a class wiki or learning management website for students to review after class, before a test, or before final exams for additional review. Ø RSS—RSS is a tool that can help all users of Internet content. As the number of websites multiply daily, it is becoming increasing difficult to keep on top of all content related to your teaching or research. RSS feed subscriptions allow a user to pick and choose what website updates they receive, even based on keywords or tags chosen by the subscriber. RSS feeds help to minimize daily surfing of the Internet and gather knowledge desired into one group for ease in reviewing. RSS feeds work well in the classroom focused on the topics being taught. Ø Screencasting-- Screencasting is a great tool when used in an educational environment. With software such as Jing and ProfCast it is very easy to record lessons and presentations shown on your computer, record these lessons, and share them with your students. Positively, screencasting with narration can assist students who may be having difficulty understanding the lessons or who need to review lessons several times to successfully retain material being taught. The ability to play back lectures anytime at any location allows students the flexibility they may need to succeed in class. At some institutions, technology present in the classroom may make recording lectures convenient, but in some cases creating screencasts may add extra time to an already full instructor’s schedule. But if time is available, students will benefit from adding this digital tool to the classroom. Ø Skype—Skype is a newer communication tool that allows people to visit online over great distances, without the use of a phone. When first released, Skype was completely free, but now there may be some costs involved depending upon the distance, type, or length of calls being made. Skype could be useful in the classroom when learning about the world and it’s countries. A Skype call to schools in other countries could be used to enrich a social studies lesson with any age students. Ø Social Bookmarking— Social bookmarking has some value for classroom use. Today’s learners all refer to the Internet when faced with a question. The opportunity to have a group of shared bookmarks that students and/or instructors have an option to share helps to expand the users’ toolbox. Social bookmarking is a positive resource in that it provides a web-based repository accessible anywhere online access can be used, and where the users can access their top choices in websites. Instantaneous access is a huge advantage and many social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us and diigo allow the user to add tags or key words to assist with rapid, categorized recall. On the negative side, web access is necessary for use of any of these social bookmarking sites. If the user wanted to work where no web access is available, they would need a locally save bookmark file for research—but this is somewhat a moot point. If web access isn’t available to reach their social bookmarks, the user could not access the sites either. Ø Story Telling-- Digital storytelling is usually a short video product made from images, video, audio and narration to tell a story. Although digital storytelling is considered to be to convey a more emotional story, digital storytelling can also be used to tell stories about research topics. The process of telling a digital story, students can learn to write, visually compose their thoughts, research information, and organize that information in a visually and emotionally appealing manner. This tool combines human nature of conveying a story with the new technology tools that are in use today. When taken into an online format, such as on wikis, blogs or YouTube, the student can share their experiences and learning with a wider audience in addition to making the content easier to share with the world. Ø Twitter—Twitter is another communication tool that has usefulness in the classroom. Twitter accounts are subscribed to and news about the “tweet-ee” is found online and pushed out to the subscriber when new content is added. Twitter would be a suitable addition to a social studies, history, current events, or other type of class where current news would prove of value. Students could subscribe to or create their own Twitter posts to gather or post information about the topic being explored. Ø Wikipedia—Although Wikipedia is viewed as a sub-standard research tool in education, Wikipedia provides a great starting point for any research project. For the student without any knowledge on a topic, Wikipedia is a starting point, with live links to other sites with information, where students could begin their research on a topic. Also, the citations at the end of a Wikipedia site can sometimes give students another source of where to look for topical knowledge. Wikipedia needs to be discussed as a class lesson, with students researching more information about the topic reviewed, so the students can learn about how to research, value and rate information found online for validity, currency, and value. Ø Wikis—Wikis are great communication/sharing websites. There are many free websites online to create wikis. A wiki can provide students with an environment to work in, where they can share ideas, files, and thoughts for projects and activities in class. Wikis can be used as a meeting place where projects and their files can be housed. Students working on exploring the history of their local city could use a wiki to share what they’ve learned, add to each other’s contributions, and evaluate material gathered an shared on the wiki. Wikis can be public or private, increasing the security of material under construction, and other classmates, instructors, and contributors can be added to the wiki to increase and evaluate the contributions. Ø YouTube—YouTube is not a technology tool, it is a website designed to help anyone share digital content. YouTube is valuable as a multimedia learning aid due to ease of sharing digital content in the classroom. The content creator can send potential viewers to a specific YouTube address either by a pasted link or embedding the web address in another document. One type of assignment would be a role-playing video where the person studied would be the main character in a digital story where students design and film their interpretation of that person’s life.
Ø Augmented Reality, virtual reality & Second Life—These three items can be categorized together into a group of altered reality environments. While virtual reality and second life focus on web-based locations that simulate real life, augmented reality is adding content or substance to reality through the use of digital content.
- Augmented reality adds additional meaning to reality and can assist student learning in many ways. Additional content added to a visual image, say the city of Rome, could add in arrows to pinpoint specific sites, short historical narratives could be added to flash on screen when someone rolls over an area of the image with a mouse or their finger, and a exploded or an open view could be shown of a building when the user scrolls over the sidewall of a building.
- In alternate reality, people can create their own identity in this alternate universe and can navigate around, explore, and learn in virtual reality and Second Life. This additional environment allows students to explore, meet, learn, and understand areas outside their actual environment. Virtual reality or Second Life locations sometimes mirror real life. In Second Life, virtual meetings can take place with avatars at imagined locations, discussing real life issues, allowing people from around the world to meet in an alternate location without the use of instant messaging, Skype or other communication tools other than their computers and the Internet.
Ø Blogs & video blogs—Blogs provide a location for people to share their thoughts, ideas and learning on a particular subject or general ideas. Users can subscribe to blogs or video blogs to download or visit the latest entries and keep abreast of changing thoughts, ideas, or facts. Blogs are text based, for the most part, and may include web links to pertinent material on other websites. Video blogs are created with broadcasting tools to add more substance to a blog. The viewer can see what is being discussed and may view actual demonstrations of topics or ideas. Video blogs and regular blogs are a chance in the classroom for students to have a voice on the Internet, on specific assigned topics or their thoughts in general. Blogs can also be used to assess someone’s understanding of ideas or, in connection with RSS and news feeds, can allow the owner to share current news and opinions on current events and issues.Ø Collaborative Editing—is found in most workplaces today as business become more mobile and globally focused. The ability to collaborate and work with a team is an invaluable skill for students to learn that will help them in the workplace and life in the future. Collaborative editing can take place through email—transferring of files for changes; from a file server—where documents or projects are checked out by users for modification and then returned to the server; or in web-based locations—cloud technology that is talked about all the time today. Collaborative editing can be used in the classroom to teach students teamwork, project management, and how to accomplish productive group activities. A group video project is a great example of collaborative editing. As a group, a storyboard of the video is planned, the script is written from the storyboard, then video is shot, followed by group work editing and finalizing the video. Editing steps in this process can take place either in a group, by sharing files via email, or sending them electronically to an online repository for storage.
Ø Facebook—Social media such as Facebook is not looked upon too highly in some educational circles. But Facebook is merely an online meeting place for friends, teammates, group members and anyone joined by a common cause. While Facebook is sometimes used for frivolous chatting and mindless activities, there is a place in both education and business for Facebook. Since most students have Facebook accounts, why not add a Facebook presence to a classroom assignment. This would allow students to communicate in a comfortable manner, would provide an online meeting place, a document and image repository, and a place where they could communicate and work together. The Facebook environment is great for collaborative learning activities.
Ø Flickr--> Image sharing is a great tool for any creative teacher. Sites such as Flickr and the ability to use Creative Commons shared photos expands the opportunities for educators to create exciting content, in both printed and digital format. Flickr subscriptions can be used to not only search for and “borrow” images, it can also be a place where students can share their work for critiquing, comments and use by others with whom they wish to share images. This site also provides a great lesson for students on Creative Commons and copyright law.
Ø Google Docs—a great site to store files for limitless access from any web-connected device. Google Docs is another option for online collaboration. Google Docs stores all types of files, including word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets. This provides another outlet for students to use in a group assignment where several people are working on an assignment or part of a project. Storage and retrieval is free along with drawing software and other tools available in the Google Docs environment. Docs would be a great addition to any collaborative learning project where a team works on a group project together.
Ø Instant Messaging—Instant messaging is a communication tool that works well in many environments. From business, medical, and education, all situations can benefit from this online communication tool. Messaging in some software requires subscription and accepting another person as someone you want to communicate with. In the workplace, sometimes simply signing into the workplace network will activate an instant messaging software. Whatever is needed to be done to sign in, messaging software can serve a valuable service. In education, messaging software can be used to communication during group projects, in the classroom, instructors could even communicate with students to answer questions as they arise. One situation that would be beneficial could be in the classroom during an exam. In order to minimize disruption to the whole class, messaging software could be used between students and the instructor or proctor to communicate questions about the test.
Ø Lulu—Lulu is an online publishing site where the user can download and publish written work in either electronic or printed format. This tool would be a great addition just about any classroom. From elementary students writing their first book to college students writing a research project, the option to download and print/store your work online or in paper format is valuable. In particular, college students writing their first book who are looking to share their work online for reading, critiquing, or promotion would all benefit from a subscription to Lulu.
Ø Ning—Ning is the next step into the social media environment. Ning helps subscribers to create their own social networking site. Although not a free site after the 30 day trial, Ning could provide students an easy way to show their passion or thoughts on an assigned topic. Students could easily create a web presence where they could share their thoughts. A Ning site could be used to promote a service learning project, helping to enlist new volunteers, customers, or people in need of assistance.
Ø Podcasting—Created from the term iPod, podcasting is a technology that has been around for a few years. Though not cutting edge, tools such as ProfCast and Jing can help students benefit from lecture capture and sharing content on the web. Instructors can easily record their lectures, slides, presentations, and digitize them for sharing online. Students who need repetition of lesson material or may need to review lessons due to absenteeism can all benefit from a podcasted lecture. Classroom content can be recorded and posted to a class wiki or learning management website for students to review after class, before a test, or before final exams for additional review.
Ø RSS—RSS is a tool that can help all users of Internet content. As the number of websites multiply daily, it is becoming increasing difficult to keep on top of all content related to your teaching or research. RSS feed subscriptions allow a user to pick and choose what website updates they receive, even based on keywords or tags chosen by the subscriber. RSS feeds help to minimize daily surfing of the Internet and gather knowledge desired into one group for ease in reviewing. RSS feeds work well in the classroom focused on the topics being taught.
Ø Screencasting-- Screencasting is a great tool when used in an educational environment. With software such as Jing and ProfCast it is very easy to record lessons and presentations shown on your computer, record these lessons, and share them with your students. Positively, screencasting with narration can assist students who may be having difficulty understanding the lessons or who need to review lessons several times to successfully retain material being taught. The ability to play back lectures anytime at any location allows students the flexibility they may need to succeed in class. At some institutions, technology present in the classroom may make recording lectures convenient, but in some cases creating screencasts may add extra time to an already full instructor’s schedule. But if time is available, students will benefit from adding this digital tool to the classroom.
Ø Skype—Skype is a newer communication tool that allows people to visit online over great distances, without the use of a phone. When first released, Skype was completely free, but now there may be some costs involved depending upon the distance, type, or length of calls being made. Skype could be useful in the classroom when learning about the world and it’s countries. A Skype call to schools in other countries could be used to enrich a social studies lesson with any age students.
Ø Social Bookmarking— Social bookmarking has some value for classroom use. Today’s learners all refer to the Internet when faced with a question. The opportunity to have a group of shared bookmarks that students and/or instructors have an option to share helps to expand the users’ toolbox. Social bookmarking is a positive resource in that it provides a web-based repository accessible anywhere online access can be used, and where the users can access their top choices in websites. Instantaneous access is a huge advantage and many social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us and diigo allow the user to add tags or key words to assist with rapid, categorized recall. On the negative side, web access is necessary for use of any of these social bookmarking sites. If the user wanted to work where no web access is available, they would need a locally save bookmark file for research—but this is somewhat a moot point. If web access isn’t available to reach their social bookmarks, the user could not access the sites either.
Ø Story Telling-- Digital storytelling is usually a short video product made from images, video, audio and narration to tell a story. Although digital storytelling is considered to be to convey a more emotional story, digital storytelling can also be used to tell stories about research topics. The process of telling a digital story, students can learn to write, visually compose their thoughts, research information, and organize that information in a visually and emotionally appealing manner. This tool combines human nature of conveying a story with the new technology tools that are in use today. When taken into an online format, such as on wikis, blogs or YouTube, the student can share their experiences and learning with a wider audience in addition to making the content easier to share with the world.
Ø Twitter—Twitter is another communication tool that has usefulness in the classroom. Twitter accounts are subscribed to and news about the “tweet-ee” is found online and pushed out to the subscriber when new content is added. Twitter would be a suitable addition to a social studies, history, current events, or other type of class where current news would prove of value. Students could subscribe to or create their own Twitter posts to gather or post information about the topic being explored.
Ø Wikipedia—Although Wikipedia is viewed as a sub-standard research tool in education, Wikipedia provides a great starting point for any research project. For the student without any knowledge on a topic, Wikipedia is a starting point, with live links to other sites with information, where students could begin their research on a topic. Also, the citations at the end of a Wikipedia site can sometimes give students another source of where to look for topical knowledge. Wikipedia needs to be discussed as a class lesson, with students researching more information about the topic reviewed, so the students can learn about how to research, value and rate information found online for validity, currency, and value.
Ø Wikis—Wikis are great communication/sharing websites. There are many free websites online to create wikis. A wiki can provide students with an environment to work in, where they can share ideas, files, and thoughts for projects and activities in class. Wikis can be used as a meeting place where projects and their files can be housed. Students working on exploring the history of their local city could use a wiki to share what they’ve learned, add to each other’s contributions, and evaluate material gathered an shared on the wiki. Wikis can be public or private, increasing the security of material under construction, and other classmates, instructors, and contributors can be added to the wiki to increase and evaluate the contributions.
Ø YouTube—YouTube is not a technology tool, it is a website designed to help anyone share digital content. YouTube is valuable as a multimedia learning aid due to ease of sharing digital content in the classroom. The content creator can send potential viewers to a specific YouTube address either by a pasted link or embedding the web address in another document. One type of assignment would be a role-playing video where the person studied would be the main character in a digital story where students design and film their interpretation of that person’s life.